Page 44 of Blood Lust

“Because what happened back there has happened to almost every vampire.” Lips lead soft kisses down my neck.

“Because the blood lust wins out sometimes, and it doesn’t make you evil, it doesn’t make you bad. It makes you try to do better next time.” He brings my hand to his lips and kisses the tips of my fingers.

“Because you don’t want to die, Wren. You tried to get out of the water. You fought like hell to live. I’m asking you to do the same thing one more time.” His exploring hands brush against the curve of my breasts, and I moan.

My eyes widen, and he presses his lips against mine. I can feel his yearning. His agony. I can tell he never wants to be without me. My heart bursts with longing, desire, and the need to be whole. His lips move to my neck as he pins me to the rock beneath us. He moans as I arch my back into him. He tastes me and the remnants of my atrocity.

The fire he ignites in me is unlike anything I’ve ever felt, and I realize how fucking stupid I’ve been. What would be the point in staging this when just speaking to me would’ve guaranteed I’d fall for him? Why would Charlee trick me into eating my ex when it could freak me out like it did? She wouldn’t. But more importantly…

Why die?

I am back in the car again, upside down, water rising.

Like a spectator, I watch myself struggle to escape the car. I see my feeble attempts to swim to the surface. I hadn’t given in to the nothing. I fought against it until I couldn’t anymore. I see the mistake that cost me everything, and I die. Oz gave that back to me. He saved me.

He killed me and made me a vampire to keep me alive.

My head is spinning.

He saved me from being nothing, he saved me again from dark terror. Now he’s trying to save me from the sun.

I am going to let him.

“Let’s go back,” I breathe, wanting to run from this place. “Quickly, before the sun comes up.”

Still panting from our kisses, Oz looks to the East. “It’s too late, my love.”

I am terrified, but he lets me drown in him even as my fear claws its way to the surface. Lips bruise mine, and he forces his tongue against mine. We will go out together in a flame of passion. I can tell when the sun breaks over the horizon. I can feel the light creep toward us faster than I imagined possible. Suddenly, it washes over us, and I tremble, clutching onto Oz like he is my life raft.

Nothing happens.

Oz and I pull apart as I open my eyes and take in the world around me. The sun shines, and birds and other animals stir for the day, while the evening creatures slumber. I look up at Oz, my eyes searching, only to find him smiling and staring back at me.

I frown.

I want to slap that damn smirk off his face.

CHAPTER 13

THE WARRIOR

How beautiful my mate is when she’s angry. Her ire burns within her very core, and for a moment, I think she will hit me as I smile at my little joke.

The sun doesn’t kill us.

It didn’t technically lie, I merely didn’t correct her assumption. I need her to realize that she wants to live. Maybe kissing her helped her remember that a little, along with using the bond we share, so she could experience all the positive things I feel instead of just her pain. I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, waiting for what I know is coming. I won’t be the first to break the silence.

SMACK!

She slapped me.

She actually slapped me.

I sputter then rub my jaw where she hit me. Okay, I deserved that.

“You’re an asshole,” snarls my one true love, looking dangerous with her face, throat, and clothes still covered in blood.

“I am,” I agree. That seems to take her by surprise.

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